I Believe in Teachers

I believe in teachers. As a former public school teacher with 35 mostly enjoyable years in classrooms I have spend most of my life in school. Along the way I have encountered some medioce teachers and many memorable ones who were truely outstanding.

These professionals all have different teaching styles and they certainly approach the craft of teaching in ways that are unique even to the point of being eccentric. They are the boisterous folks who rule their domain with the discipline displayed by most five star generals. They are the meek instuctors who seldom talk above a whisper and manage theri classrooms with quiet elegance. They are the intellectual ones who readily share their wisdom and deep understanding of the world. They are the ones who make their students laugh with them as they share their exuberance for life. However different these super teachers all share a passion for what they do on a daily basis, which is to touch the lives of those whom they teach.

I believe in teachers for I believe in young people and the hidden potential that is within each of them. One of my students once remarked that techers cared more about each student than that student cared about themselves. Well duh! Teachers are those indomitable folks who do care and it shows in all they do. This is the badge that all good teachers wear with pride-they flaunt this caring attitude. The message is boldly communicated in classrooms everywhere.

The job of teaching is not an easy one. Long hours spent in and out of the classroom for very little monetary compensation may sound like a definition of a very depressing life. Teachers eagerly toil long hours, spend their summrs in workshops, join study groups, work second jobs, join professional associations, take educational trips and read the latest books and journals which deal with pedagogy. Why do they do this? Every teacher can answer the question using the same two word answer, “the students.”

Teachers motivate, inspire and guide their students along the paths of learning that lead

to a deeper understanding of the world and the possiblilitiies it offers. Without teachers to help demystify the universe, share a passion for literature, explain the puzzles of mathematices and science, share the beauty of art, music and poetry, life would be devoid of what makes it so magical and wonderful. Teachers certainly don’t have all the answers to every question asked of them, but they will not rest until they find the answer and share it with thier classroom world.

I believe in hope and who better exemplifies hope than the teachers of the world. Where there is little hope in a student’s life it is the teacher sho provides it in abundance. Without hope there can be little intellectual growth and potential withers and dies. Teachers will not let that happen. Not on their watch.

Teachers often drive old cars long past their expected life so that they can make their classsroom come alive with color and excitement. Teachers willingly board space vehicles so that they will have a unique experience to share with students. They hide their fears so that their students can bravely travel along them and explore new worlds together.

I believe in tachers. We have all been exposed to those special ones who have changed our lives-the ones who demanded more of us than we thought we were capable of, and made us confident that we, too, could change the lives of others. I bet you share this belief with me.

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This week’s essay

Following her grandmother’s death, Priya Chandrasekaran wondered what to do with the colorful silk saris she inherited. In deciding to make a quilt from them, Chandrasekaran believes she found a way to both honor her grandmother and create something new. Click here to read her essay.